It was an action-packed weekend of football across Europe. Here are the Winners and Losers. Bet on football here.
Granada
With El Clasico postponed over the weekend in la Liga, newly promoted side Granada took full advantage and won their match which took them top of La Liga. The Andalusian club moved up from sixth to top with 20 points from ten games. Alvaro Vadillo scored the only goal as his team defeated Real Betis 1-0 with a close-range finish. Granada are one point above Barcelona, Real Sociedad and Atletico Madrid. Granada have never won a major trophy in their 86-year history. They went closest in the 1958/59 Spanish Cup final where they lost to Barcelona. They finished sixth on two occasions in the 1970s.
Atalanta
Italian side Atalanta hammered Udinese 7-1 in the Serie A to bounce back from a 5-1 defeat in the Champions League earlier in the week. This was their joint-biggest Serie A victory ever with Luis Muriel scoring a hat-trick. The visitors took the lead early in the first half but Josip Ilicic equalised for the hosts. Udinese’s Nicholas Opoku was then sent off for conceding a penalty allowing the visitors to run riot. With that emphatic result, Gian Piero Gasperini’s side now have the best attack in Serie A with 28 goals after nine games. The last side to score more at that stage was AC Milan in 1992/93.
Borussia Monchengladbach and Bayern Munich
The madness in the Bundesliga continued over the weekend. Borussia Mönchengladbach retained their lead at the top of the table with 19 points while Bayern, who also won over the weekend are second, a point behind Monchengladbach. After the weekend matches, just five points separate leaders Mönchengladbach and tenth-placed Hoffenheim. RB Leipzig’s early season form has also dissipated as they were beaten 2-1 by Freiburg. The season is still in the early stages but who will take the bulls by the horn?
Thiago Motta and Genoa
Just days after he was appointed as Genoa manager, former Barcelona and PSG midfielder Thiago Motta secured his first victory in spectacular fashion as his side moved out of the bottom of Serie A. Genoa fell behind after 34 minutes and it looked like Motta’s first match wasn’t going to be a victory. After being pegged back for over an hour Motta’s side came back with goals from all three second-half substitutes, a first in Serie A history. Kevin Agudelo, Christian Kouame and veteran Goran Pandev sealed the win for Motta. This was their second win of the season and first since September 1.
Losers
Serie A title challengers
Juventus, Inter Milan and Napoli all failed to win their respective matches in Serie A on the weekend allowing Atalanta to close in on them. Leaders Juventus dropped points for the first time since September after drawing 1-1 at Lecce. Inter missed the chance to replace Juve at the top after they drew 2-2 with Parma. SPAL also held Napoli who remain fourth after nine games.
Borussia Dortmund
Dortmund’s unimpressive season continued after they were held 0-0 by bitter rivals Schalke at a packed-out Veltins-Arena. The draw left them with just one win and five draws in their last five games. Lucien Favre’s side now sit fifth with 16 points after nine games. The result might not be bad considering the chaos that is happening in the Bundesliga this season and they’re just three points behind leaders Monchengladbach. However, they might feel they lost an opportunity to go top of the table.
AC Milan
It was more misery for Italian giants AC Milan who were beaten 2-1 by AS Roma. This was the second game of newly appointed manager Stefano Pioli has now picked up one point from his first two games since succeeding Marco Giampaolo as Milan coach. His side are 12th with ten points, having won just one of their last six games. With games against Juventus, Lazio and Napoli coming up, things might get worse before they get better. Can Pioli turn things around?